It’s a fairly busy week on the stands this week. Here’s a look at the major comics from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, IDW Publishing, Valiant, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, and Avatar Press.

Aquaman and The Others #1

DC Comics

Aquaman is forced to team back up with the holders of the various Atlantean objects of power to figure out who’s sending ninjas after them. Honestly, with Dan Jurgens on the script and Lan Medina and Allen Martinez clearly being guided by him on the layouts, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a ’90s reprint. But it’s entertaining and fairly efficient, and thus, for Aquaman fans, worth a read.

Inhuman #1

Marvel

Marvel’s taste for mutants, er, Inhumans gets an ongoing of its very own from Charles Soule and Joe Madureira. Anything from Soule is always worth reading, and his dialogue in particular ranges from earthly and real to amusingly overblown and pompous depending on the character. Madureira, though, doesn’t feel like a good fit for this book. His elaborate, over-the-top style feels a bit too loose and dated for the book. Still a good read, it must be said, and worth it for Marvel fans.

Carnage Vs. Deadpool #1

Marvel

This is the kind of book where the title will pretty much sell you on it or not. Suffice to say Cullen Bunn and Salvador Espin deliver precisely what you expect, and it’s gleeful in how ridiculous it is.

Shotgun Wedding #1

Image Comics

Breaking up is hard to do. When you’re both assassins and one of you has severe rage issues… well, it gets messier. William Harms isn’t exactly changing espionage books with this, but his sense of action and tone make the book a fairly zippy one. Albert Pun’s clean, clear art help considerably; the action sequences are a lot of fun. Worth reading for action fans.’

The Field #1

Image Comics

The first of two books this week about a guy waking up somewhere with no memory, The Field is a much darker and funnier story from Ed Brisson. Simon Roy helps quite a bit by generating an air of unease as our amnesiac hero realizes his “benefactor” is anything but. A queasy, engaging book, and highly recommended.

’68: Rule of War #1

Image Comics

Yep, the “zombies in ‘Nam” series is back. Honestly, if you’re a fan, this will be great, but for the rest of us, there’s really nothing in Mark Kidwell’s script that’s attention-getting. Albeit Jeff Zornow can really draw a rotting zombie, and for some that’ll be enough.

Angel and Faith: Season Ten #1

Dark Horse

Victor Gischler steps away from his film-pitch books to take on the Buffyverse. I freely admit I’ve been pretty hard on Gischler in this column, but to be honest, he’s quite a good fit here. Will Conrad’s art is solid, and overall, it’s a good story. Worth picking up for Buffy fans.

Dead Letters #1

Boom! Studios

Sam wakes up in a seedy motel room, with no memories, and the phone starts ringing. It’s a fairly standard setup, but Christopher Sebela’s script pretty much packs the book with so much action you won’t notice. Chris Visions, handling art, actually cleverly pays off this books ultimate idea quite well; you’ll start noticing something’s off, start asking questions, but only until the final panel are your suspicions confirmed. It’s a promising start, and we’re looking forward to what comes next.

Caliban #1

Avatar Press

Or Garth Ennis’ Event Horizon. Not that that’s a bad thing. This first issue is mostly just getting the pieces on the board, but it’s got some promise, and Facundo Percio’s art is a nice, detailed collection of pages. Worth a read for SF/horror fans.

The Premature Burial

Dark Horse

Richard Corben returns to his Poe adaptations in a one-shot from Dark Horse. The title story is actually a bit better suited to Corben’s black humor than his expansion of The Cask of Amontillado, but it’s still a fun little dose for nastiness for those interested.

Join The Discussion

Light week: Earth 2, She-Hulk, New Warriors, Quantum & Woody, and Archer & Armstrong. Still letting my pile get larger (blame everything), but I did read Earth 2 and its brand of false advertising. Guess how many pages cover boy Green Lantern appears in? SPOILERS: just the preview pages. Still a good book and explains some things, but a letdown for those who want more Alan Scott.[www.comicbookresources.com]

okay so it’s not a heavy week… but basically EVERYTHING this week is going to be AWESOME.
I absolutely love Event Horizon, and the fact that one of my favorite writers is going to be tackling an “Event horizon-esque” sci-fi horror story, on Avatar of all publishers, is amazing. I couldn’t wait for this book the second I heard about it.
then I get another Ennis Crossed book, which is ALWAYS welcome, since he birthed the series and is the master of it.

Any week that Warren Ellis comes out with anything new is a great week as well, and his first issue of Moon Knight was refreshing and excellent. In addition, I really enjoyed Bunn’s Magneto #1. so looking forward to both of those as well.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Starlight #1. I wasn’t expecting much, but the last few pages left me extremely hungry for the next couple of issues, and to see where it goes. I hope it keeps the pace.
Trillium has also been excellent so I’m looking forward to the ending of that. And for anyone that hasn’t been reading Hickman’s “Secret” book – as sporadic as the issues have been, you are totally missing out.

I feel like the new Punisher series needs to be on this list. The current look is awesome (the skull plate carrier is a nice twist) and the current story line featuring a showdown with the Del Soles Cartel in LA. It also features Electro and chemical weapons.

Moon Knight was pretty awesome (Yes, son, the doctor’s appointment is about my farting), although I felt the first issue was better. Carnage Vs. Deadpool has a lot of potential.